We awoke to a parade this morning! We could see it right from our lanai, in addition to walking next to it most of the way on our journey this morning. I would start every day with a parade if I could. hahaha

Our friend from Philly is a fellow Penn Stater, so we took him to Rivals to watch the game. Unlike last time, which was insanely early at 6:30 a.m., this game started at 9:30 a.m. so we were able to watch it in a nice outdoor patio area behind the bar. The game was an absolute crime scene, but those are always easier when you’re surrounded by your Penn State ohana in paradise.

After the game we headed out to Paradise Cove for their luau. We got there pretty much right as the gates were opening, but I still feel like we didn’t even get to do all the neat stuff they have before the festivities started. We were able to throw spears, watch a guy husks a coconut, and see a guy climb a palm tree without any assistance… but we missed a few other games and pretty much everything at the beach as well as the craft table where they made these awesome leaf headbands.

And if we hadn’t already had enough serendipitous, against-the-odds moments while here: I saw a girl I graduated high school with at the luau! We only had a couple minutes to chat before the festivities, but my brain hurts when I think about the mathematical odds of both of us being thousands of miles from home… on the same day… and at the exact same luau.

The luau itself was so fun. We watched them take the pig out of the underground imu and had a pretty good buffet dinner before the show started. The host was delightful and all of the music and dancing were really good. There was a lot of crowd interactivity and our friend even went onstage to get hula “certified.”